


Fringe of Madness

by lamentables



Category: Hard Core Logo (1996), Slings & Arrows
Genre: Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-04-01
Updated: 2008-04-01
Packaged: 2017-10-21 02:42:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/220001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lamentables/pseuds/lamentables
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Basil reviews Darren Nichols' latest travesty</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fringe of Madness

_Basil Cullen, Arts Correspondent_

Those who were paying attention during last year's New Burbage Festival will remember that the most discussed performance was one that was not part of the Festival itself. Fewer than one hundred of the cognoscenti saw the single performance of Geoffrey Tenant's troubled but brilliant production of _King Lear_ , staged at St Aidan's Church Hall. And of course, since the tragic death of Charles Kingman only two months later, the production can never be revived.

Those who suffered through last night's 'fringe' performance of _Hard Core Logo: The Musical_ will doubtless be praying that no-one ever considers a revival of this production. Darren Nichols has apparently succumbed to the ineluctable madness of the New Burbage Artistic Director, writing and directing a show that is remarkable only for being simultaneously saccharine, dull and offensive. Based on Bruce McDonald's infamous band documentary, _Hard Core Logo_ , the musical was hampered by the refusal of the copyright holders to allow the use of HCL's original music. Nichols therefore undertook the writing of an entirely new score to set off this tale of a failing punk band, their tangential relationship with reality, and their poor personal hygiene.

I have never been an aficionado of the punk oeuvre, but I do know that Nichols misses both the sound and the sentiment of the genre by at least the distance of HCL's final cross-Canada tour. Perhaps the most egregious moment of the evening was the closing song, 'Last Thought', sung by lead character Joe Dick as he lies bleeding from a fatal head wound.

I hate you Billy, you're a twat  
Now I'm dying: deal with that

I can only hope that the newly appointed Artistic Director, Colm Feore, has a firm grip on his sanity and shares my dislike of musical theatre.


End file.
